Sir, – You rightly point out in your recent editorial on Irish tourism ("Crying wolf, again", May 4th) that the sector is a vital part of the economy in terms of employment and exchequer returns. However, you then go on to criticise the representative group for Irish tourism interests, the Irish Tourism Industry Confederation (ITIC), for warning that growth may only be half of what was officially forecast earlier this year as a result of weakening competitiveness brought about by Government policy. Should Ireland's largest indigenous industry and biggest regional employer be happy with this? We think not.
There has been a worrying drift in Government focus of late when it comes to tourism policy. The VAT hike alone that came into effect on January 1st imposes an additional burden of €466 million on the sector right at the time that Brexit comes to pass. The modest funding increase for tourism agencies in the last budget only brings investment now back to 2008 levels.
Ireland’s tourism industry has delivered massively in recent times. It employs 265,000 people across the country and is spending approximately €2.5 billion in the next three years alone in new tourism product. There is significant potential for Irish tourism but only if the right policies and investment strategies are pursued by the state. Ireland’s tourism industry deserves no less, and the Irish Tourism Industry Confederation makes no apology about making that case. – Yours, etc,
EOGHAN
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O’MARA WALSH,
Chief Executive,
Irish Tourism
Industry Confederation,
Unit 5,
Sandyford Office Park,
Dublin 18.